Brake-staff.



N0. 799,144.. PATENTED SEPT. l2, 1905. J. 'I'. CLARK.

BRAKE STAFF.

APPLICATION rILnD JUNI: 29.1905.

UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAME.` TIIOUAS CLARK, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY L. MEYER, OF NEY YORK, N. Y.

BRAKE-STAFF.

No. 799.144. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. l2, 1905.

Application led June 29, 1905. Serial No 268,005. i

T 'll/'700711' ff 71H07/ concern.' Fig'. 3 is a detail, partly in section, of the up- 55 Be it known thatl, JAMES THOMAS CLARK, a per end of the staff, the hand-wheel being' in citizen of the United States, residing at Housposition for coupling with a vestibuled car. ton,in the county of Harris andStateof Texas, Fig'. 4 illustrates the staff in elevation. the haveinvented certain new and usefullmproveposition being at rig'ht angles to the view in ments in Brake-Staffs, of which the following Fig'. Q. Fig'. 5 is a top plan view of my 60 is a full, clear, and exact specification. brake-staff as applied to a flat, showing it in This invention relates to brake-staffs emits folded position. Fig. 6 is an end view ploycd in the hand braking' systems of i'ailillustrating my brake-staff applied to a flat,

IO way-cars. and Fig'. 7 is a sectional view on the line7 7 of in some sections of the country, particu- Fig'. Q. 65 larly the Southwest, many of the railroads My improved brake-staff is made 1n three still retain thehand-brake, not only on freightsections, the lower one 1 being, as usual, cars, but upon the day-coaches used on locals, stepped at its lower end in any suitable bear- I5 and in the latter case with great cost, owing' ing' 2 and having' a suitable bearing' on the to the fact that the cars equipped with handfront sill or platform, whether it be a passen- 70 brakes are almost daily coupled with throug'hger or a freight. The lower section l of the Vcars of the vestibule type, in which case the` staff is relatively short and terminates just hand-wheel of the one car must be removed above the car-platform A in an angular crossto avoid crushing' the vestibule of the adjasectional, preferably squared, stud 3 to recent car. ln thus removing' the hand-wheel ceivc the similarly-shaped socket-Tof themid- 75 the common practice is to throw it on the die or main section 5 of the staff. This main g'round or insecurely fasten it to the car-body, section 5 is at its upper end bifurcated and where it is lost so far as the road is conprovided with a socket 6, the wheel-Spindle cerned, as it may be picked up and sold for 7 being' pivoted between the legs 8 of the upjunk or left to rust and become useless to per end of the section 5. The wheel-spindle any one. The development of the lumber 7 is formed with a flattened lower end fitting traffic has called serious attention to a further snug'ly and being' pivoted between the upper objection to the ordinary rig'id brake-staff, legs 8 of the section 5, said flattened end beinasmuch as lumber or timber of greater ing provided with an elong'ated downwardlylength than the fiats org'ondolas is offered for tapered slot 9, engaging a through-bolt 10, 35 shipment, and the brake-staff interferes with carried by said upper legs of the section 5. the economical loading' of the car or train. Below the tampered slot 9 the wheel-spindle In this case the brake-staff is removed from 7 is provided with a stud 11 to engag'e the one end of the fiat and thrown to the ground socket 6 of section and at its upper end it beside the track to become junk, as in the ease is rigidly connected with a hand-wheel 12. 9C of the hand-wheel before mentioned. The lower end of the section 5 is also bifur- One object of this invention is to avoid the cated, its legs carrying' at their lower ends a expense incident to the loss of the brake pivot-bolt13, which passes through an elon- 40 wheels and staffs, and this is attained by my gated slot 14 in the lower section 1 of the novel brake-staff hereinafter set forth, and staff, the upper end of said lower section 1 95 illustrated in the accompanying drawings. of the staff being squared or angular cross- Writh this and other objects in view the insectionally, as at 3, to fit a correspondinglyvention consists of the novel features of conshaped socket, as at 4, cross-sectionally in the struction hereinafter described, and particulower end of section 5 of the brake-staff, as

larly set forth in the appended claims. shown. These parts are perforated to receive Referring to the drawings, wherein similar a locking' pin or key 15, which is preferably characters ofreference are used toindicate corpermanently attached to the staff by a chain responding parts in each of the several views, or in any desired manner. As so constructed 5C Figure 1 represents in side elevation the adit is obvious that in coupling' to a vestibule,

jacent ends of a vestibule-car and an ordinary as in Fig'. 1, the wheel-spindle by a sharp pull IOS car in juxtaposition, the latter fitted with my upward may be freed in one direction from improved brake-staff. Fig'. 2 is a view, partly its bolt 10, so that it may be turned, as in Fig'. in section, illustrating' my improvement. 1, to admit of coupling' with a vestibuled car without discarding the hand-wheel. Moreover, in loading long lumber on {iats it will be seen that the section 5 of the staff may be raised from the section 1 and folded upon or adjacent to the platform of a fiat, whereby it may be brought instantly into service after the unloading of the long timber.

It is obvious, of course, that in use upon passenger coaches the section 5 could be formed or made in one piece with the basesection 1, thus making a practically rigid sta. Also in the use on flats or gondolas the wheel 12 may or may not be secured perma bolt seated in the lower section, and means for locking said sections together.

3. A sectional folding brake-stai provided at its top with a hand-wheel adapted to be folded into a plane substantially parallel with the brake-staff, and at its lower end with an angular socket fitting the upper end of the lower section, and with legs carrying apivotpin, said lower section being provided with a vertical slot through which said pivot-pin is adapted to pass.

4. A sectional folding brake-staff, the main section being bifurcated at the top and provided with a pivot-pin, and the upper or handwheel section being iattened to fit the top of the main section and provided with a tapering slot engaging the pivot-pin of said main section.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES THOMAS CLARK.

Witnesses:

B. I. HoBBs, W. A. PRICHARD. 

